Reuters - A U.S. appeals court upheld on Friday a Federal Communications Commission ban that prevents cable companies like Comcast Corp from cutting exclusive deals for affiliated television programing.
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AP - You'd think after 10 years, comedians Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy would be tired of each other's jokes.

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AP - A coroner's official says authorities have recovered four prescription drug bottles bearing the name of actor Corey Haim but found nothing illegal while investigating his death.

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• The Clash’s Mick Jones and Paul Simonon both play on Gorillaz’s new Plastic Beach, and Spinner reports the pair might be considering joining Damon Albarn’s outfit on a brief tour. If true, it would mark the first time the former bandmates have shared a stage in public since 1983.

• Unchain My Heart, a musical about Ray Charles, will make its Broadway debut November 7th, the AP reports. Ray producer Stuart Benjamin is working on the project.
• Amy Winehouse is getting into the fashion business. launching a new line for Fred Perry. The singer’s Website announces that her 17-piece black and pink-dominated collection features polo shirts and pencil skirts and is due in October.
• TIcketless Metallica fans rioted in Colombia earlier this week, leading to more than 100 arrests and eight injuries outside the band’s show at Bogota’s Simón Bolívar Park. Pollstar reports.

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Lawyers for producer Phil Spector have appealed his 2009 murder conviction, claiming he didn’t receive a fair trial. Last May, Spector, now 70 years old, was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison for shooting actress Lana Clarkson at his California mansion in 2003. Citing judicial error and prosecutorial misconduct, his legal team requested the conviction be overturned and he be given a new trial, the AP reports.

The Rise & Fall of Phil Spector: Photos from his famed studio sessions.

In papers filed Wednesday, the attorneys claimed prosecutors improperly used testimony from five women who claimed that Spector threatened them with guns in the past. The accounts, they wrote, “became the heart of the state’s case” and were used to persuade jury members to convict Spector “based on his bad character and evil propensities.” His lawyers said their testimonies had nothing to do with Clarkson’s death and that none of their stories “involved events in which Mr. Spector put a gun in someone’s mouth, much less fired it.”

Phil Spector on trial: photos from the crime scene to the courthouse.

Spector’s lawyers criticized the actions of Judge Larry Paul Fidler, citing that he allowed prosecutors to use the word “pattern” more than 40 times in describing Spector’s history with women and guns. They also decried the judge’s decision to allow jurors in the second trial to see a taped hearing from the first trial that was conducted outside the presence of Spector. On the tape, the judge was seen interpreting a forensic witness’s testimony about the position of the blood spatter on Clarkson’s body. “Under California law, a judge may not offer evidence in a trial over which he presides,” the appeal states, adding that the judge could not be cross-examined by the defense on what the prosecutors said was the most important fact of the case — whether the blood spatter showed who pulled the trigger.

The state attorney general’s office is expected to file a reply brief next month.

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• Jailhouse Rock?: Charles Manson Reaches Out to Phil Spector
• Phil Spector Moved To California Facility For Prison Sentence
• Full Coverage: The Phil Spector Trial

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Photo: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty

At Monday night’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, one half of Abba will dance, jive and have the time of their lives while being honored by a roomful of the biggest names in music. The other two will be at home.

Fans hoping the Swedish pop masters would turn out a sparkling rendition of “Dancing Queen” — something they haven’t done since 1982 — will instead be serenaded by Faith Hill. It’s possible, though, that Abba’s Benny Andersson will perform. “If someone asks me to, yeah, I will,” he told Billboard.com. “I’ll see if I can play something from the old catalog.” Andersson will be attending the ceremony with ex-wife Frida (Anni-Frid Lyngstad). His songwriting partner Bjorn Ulvaeus can’t go because of a family event and Agnetha Faltskog “doesn’t like to fly,” Andersson told the USA Today.

Check out all of Rolling Stone’s Hall of Fame coverage.

In December, Andersson told Rolling Stone that he was shocked Abba received a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nod. “I didn’t think this would happen, because we were a pop band, not a rock band,” he said. “Being a foreigner from the North Pole, this feels really good.” Though he wasn’t certain, even then he predicted the group — which formed in 1970 — would not reunite. “The people who are really fond of Abba for what we did, I think we are doing them a favor by not going out. We all feel the same. It’s been too long of a time.”

See all of the Hall of Fame’s inductees.

Genesis, the Hollies, Jimmy Cliff and the Stooges will also be inducted into the Rock Hall on Monday night, but only the Stooges will perform. As Rolling Stone reported, Chris Isaak, Ronnie Spector, Adam Levine and Fefe Dobson are among the guest performers. Rolling Stone will have complete coverage from Monday night’s ceremony in New York, so stick with us for photos, interviews and more.

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• Chris Isaak, Faith Hill, Maroon 5 to Perform at Rock Hall Induction
• Billie Joe Armstrong, Phish’s Anastasio, Wyclef Jean to Honor Rock Hall of Fame Inductees
• Peter Gabriel Won’t Attend Genesis’ Rock Hall Induction

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Reuters - A 16th century dog, the only known female to have served aboard King Henry VIII's ill-fated flagship the Mary Rose, has stolen the show at Britain's Crufts dog show this year.

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AP - Red carpet regular Tinsley Mortimer is jumping from the social circuit to the national spotlight with her own reality television show.

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